5 ‘BEST’ times to buy a car/SUV

The automotive market is booming in India, thanks to various new models introduced over the years and increasing budgets of families. Car buying remains one of the most important decisions in many Indian families and needs a lot of planning. So, what are the best times when you can buy a car in India? Here are 5 of them.

New Year

Discounts on the cars start right from December and stay on till the stocks last in January. With the change of the calendar year, most of the customers want to get cars manufactured in the new year. Manufacturers also take the chance to increase the prices of the units manufactured in the new year and drop the prices drastically on the units manufactured in the current year.

There are exactly no changes in the vehicle apart from the manufacturing year and it should not cause any kind of the trouble to the buyer. Yes, it does affect resale value minorly but if someone is planning to the keep the vehicle for more than 4 years, the resale value factor also dissolves.

March!

If you’re a businessman/businesswoman, you’ll know that buying a car in March will allow you to save tax by treating the vehicle as a business expense. This is a time when manufacturers also line up attractive discounts to lure just such buyers.

Festive season

The festive season in India starts from mid-September and stays on until around end October. This period sees an unusual rise in car sales as customers align their buying with the auspicious dates that fall during this period. Car manufacturers and dealers come up with special discounts and deals to attract more of such buyers. Yes, the waiting period may go up due to the extreme demand but you do get a good deal during this time of the year.

Just before a facelift/new model

Manufacturers keep on introducing facelifts during the life of the vehicle to keep it fresh in the market. This is when dealers offer good discounts on the existing stock so that it sells quickly and makes space for the new facelifted model. This is the time when you can make your move to buy a vehicle at a discounted price.

Most facelifts models are minor changes to the interior and the exterior and if you’re not keen on new features and want to keep the vehicle for a long time, you should not worry about such minor changes. New models, however, can drop the resale value drastically.

All-new models come with a host of changes done to the body, engine and features that make the current generation vehicles primitive. However, all-new models mean greater discounts on the current models.

Just after new launch

Nowadays, many manufacturers offer introductory prices on their vehicles soon after the launch. The introductory prices remain valid for a first few thousands or more units to attract customers. Later, when the car sales start to roll, they increase the prices. Now, this can be a bit of gamble as all the manufacturers and all the cars do not get the introductory prices so you will have to careful while waiting for such deals.